The best source of information on the population status of Pied-billed Grebe is the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), which samples much of the range and has high precision for this species. The national BBS trend shows a decline through the 1970s and 1980s, but a subsequent rebound to current levels slightly above those in 1970. There has been little long-term change in most Canadian Bird Conservation Regions where reliability of the BBS is at least medium, except in the southern Prairies and Maritimes where there have been moderate increases, and in southern parts of Ontario and Quebec, where there has been a moderate decrease. The Marsh Monitoring Program (MMP) provides data on this species, however for a limited area and over a shorter period of time. Largely consistent with the regional BBS results, the MMP shows large declines from 1995 to 2021 in the Lake Huron and Ontario watersheds, although little change along Lake Erie. Increases from 2011 to 2015 in the Prairies, and since the early 2010s in parts of the Great Lakes region are likely due, at least in part, to wet conditions on the Prairies and increasing Great Lakes water levels, which improve breeding habitat quality for this species (Tozer et al., 2024).

The goal for Pied-billed Grebe is to maintain its population at or above the level it was at in the early 1970s, based on the Breeding Bird Survey. Recent data show that the population is within its goal range.